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King of the meth game
To say that Made in Korea rekindled my fire for Asian dramas after nearly a decade of being out of it is understating it. I'm always going to be a sucker for spies and espionage, and I'm *especially* a sucker for the Cold War timeframe. And compared to a lot of works in the west, especially in the 70's time frame MiK sets itself in, that works within the confines of Detente between the US and the Soviet Union, setting it in South Korea and Japan allows for a lot more flexibility, and gives a look into a South Korea that is still dealing with the aftershocks of both the Korean War, and being a dictatorial bulwark for the US against the spread of communism in East Asia. After watching the first half and giddy at the prospect of a second half that could be as good as the first, I dove into the second half wondering what the writers, and specifically Woo Min-ho could do.The story picks up in the late 70's, with Baek Ki-tae (Hyun Bin) having ascended to the deputy director role of the Korean CIA, and looking for further control. The meth trade between Japan and Korea is still humming along, and even beginning to sell within borders. But the winds of regime change are blowing, and Ki-tae specifically has new apex predators looking to knock him off the perch - specifically, in Hwang Dae-sik (Heo Jung-do) who sees his operations as an obstacle to his own power and ambitions. To that end, Dae-sik decides to bring Jang Geon-young (Jung Woo-sung) out from the purgatory Ki-tae forced himself in, and bring him down. Cue chess matches and a lot of killings.
To be honest, the second half meets the lofty expectations set by the first. But then we eventually get into the last 10 minutes, and the ending specifically. For what it's worth, I'm not as down on the ending as others are - I think thematically, it is fitting. As much as people are essentially caping for a meth dealer to win because of the absolute powerhouse performance Hyun Bin provides, it was clear to me that Ki-tae ultimately did not have that next gear of evil to be able to gain the further control that he lusted after. The ultimate irony of Dae-sik being the winner tracks for those who know their Korean history, considering he is ultimately a value brand interpretation of Chun Doo-hwan, the dictator that would take control in 1979 as well, and last until 1988, but that still doesn't explain away that when it comes to the story, Ki-tae is seriously nerfed. Maybe it is me looking too much through the lens of hindsight and knowing how the US ultimately inflamed the dictatorships that were under its umbrella, but it would have been easy to cook up a cockamamie plot that the North had infiltrated the Army staff, and that there needed to be a change of power. But if you are the one to enjoy your stories being wrapped up in a nice bow, then the open-ended nature of the ending is definitely going to be a massive rain cloud on your ultimate enjoyment of the ending, even if you have knowledge of the events that MiK bases itself in, or how Korean dramas operate where the villain almost never wins.
Unfortunately, for as much as Woo Do-Hwan manages to step up to the plate in terms of acting as Baek Ki-hyun, there is no denying that he is the weakest link character wise in the main cast. Whereas Ki-tae's ultimate folly is his belief in his brother, Ki-hyun is straight up a coward. He has no problem effectively working and undermining the investigation that he is apart of, but even after seeing his sister become a meth head more or less due to Ki-tae's ambitions, the motivations for stabbing Ki-tae in the back are shaky at best. The open ended ending does save him somewhat from being truly a useless character, but he is without question the weak link.
Geon-young's character change from the first half is one aspect I do enjoy greatly. It's clear that his drive to bring Ki-tae down has him ultimately abandoning his values and shacking up with military men who are bloodthirsty and willing to lash out and eliminate those they see as a threat (Geon-young more or less spells this out at the end) but it is exciting to see whether he will cross the event horizon and truly become a wild animal off the leash in order to get what he wants, or if he will restrain himself just that little bit. Said push, pull and strain also drives his relationship with his partner Oh Ye-jin (Seo Eun-su) but she unfortunately feels increasingly superfluous as the second half goes on, with very little charm that made her enjoyable in the first half.
And then there is the Japanese end of the story, and specifically Choi Yuji (Won Ji-an) and her own power ambitions. I will admit, it was a surprise to see that there was indeed feelings between her and Ki-tae, but it's done in a way that feels right, and while it does make up part of the reason for Ki-tae's ultimate escape plan, it is not overbearing otherwise. Considering that the story becomes much more insular, especially in the last two episodes, it's no surprise to see Yuji become a smaller player outside of the first episode, but even with what Won Ji-an has to work with, she delivers for sure.
Continued from the first half, is the top notch set work and aesthetics of it all. There was no expense spared in presenting Korea and Japan in the 70's, with cigarette and cigar smoke and dark rooms a plenty. It is truly a textured, rich world, and it's clear that the Disney money allowed for a lot more flexibility in that regard to present the world in a way that felt true. For as much stick as I and others have given the ending, I will admit the lighting in the scene in general was fantastic, flipping between bright lights, darkness, and bright red.
I think even taking the ending into account (again, I am not as down on it as others because I can understand, and ultimately get, why it was done, but it definitely can turn some people off) there is no denying that I enjoyed Made in Korea. A lot. It gave me everything I love, done up in a time frame and period that is unique for me, seeing things in a Western-centric lens. That it truly feels like the 70's is also a really fantastic showing from Woo Min-ho, using the big money given to him for this project well. I doubt that there will be a third season (especially considering the director has stomped up and down that 12.12 The Day essentially did that for him, and considering it also has Jung Woo-sung, people might as well go there for the next part) so if this is truly the end, I loved a lot of it. And even it's worst aspect kneecapping it a couple yards from the end, this is by far the best Korean drama I've watched taking everything into account.
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Fundamentals are key
In a lot of ways, a story doesn't need to try and subvert a person's expectations on what is to be expected. Like a boxer with a good straight/jab, sometimes it's just as good to have the basics nailed down and done well to keep you interested and satisfied. And within Filing for Love, those fundamentals are well set in stone, and well executed on.What might look like your standard Korean drama romantic comedy is more or less that. But where FFL excels is its ability to make the viewer care for the wider story, and feel satisfied in how it ultimately ends. In something like a romantic comedy that is most importantly portrayed by the two leads and how the writers make them come together, and there is no denying that the two leads in FFL do well. Shin Hae-su is by far the stand out here, but Gong Myoung as well has a great comedic ability that is buoyed by the first half of the series having a great pace in terms of scenarios of office politics and rule breakers. Team Three in general is well fleshed out in terms of their personalities and what they contribute to the team, and by the end, you care for them as much as you do the two leads.
Unfortunately, the secondary relationship between Hong Hwa Yeon and Kim Jae Uck does not pass the mustard as much as the leads do - mainly because both of them are nowhere near as compelling in terms of characters, or provide a reason to care other then their prior relationships with the main leads.
Even if this is a 'low' rating, this is about as glowing of a 7.5 as you can get. Will I watch this again and again? No, probably not. But I'm glad I did, because it goes to show that doing things well in service of a specific sub-genre is worth its weight in gold, especially in a world where writers and directors are trying desperately to subvert audience expectations in order to satisfy an ever-increasingly jaded watching public.
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Why did I bother?
To be quite honest, I probably should have looked at the reviews and dropped this around like episode 4. What starts off as a pretty interesting idea for a thriller quickly peters out - and the worst part of it all is that the only reason why I stuck around is that admittedly, the leads (Min Namkoong specifically) put in 10 to 15 dollar acting performances that the overall story simply cannot keep up to. Even then, it feels like Namkoong specifically is trying to cover as much ground as possible - specifically that in the early going, he is portrayed as a husband that is more focused on work then trying even a little to patch up a quickly crumbling marriage.I will admit that there are some story beats I like - the idea that the main bad guy's wife is indeed in on the plot, and the overall ending being presented as a happy ending of sorts - and certainly, the first four episodes do a great job of doing the things a thriller needs to do to keep audiences interested, but once the wheels fall out, hooo boy do things start getting frustrating.
Apropos of nothing, but can we just appreciate the lead detective's mane of hair? That's the clearest example of hockey hair I've seen in a long while, and from a Korean drama no less.
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Theatre of the absurd?
It's hard not to compare The Affair Was Just The Beginning to Mad Concrete Dreams - both came out in 2026, and both ultimately use a situation careening out of control as a major story element. Whereas MCD uses that situation for more sympathetic ends, treating it as actions done by a father trying to provide for his family and specifically his daughter, The Affair swings the complete other way. And by god is it for the show's benefit.No one in this show is a good person. Everyone is willing to backstab each other, to sell each other up the river in order to buy themselves just enough time to get out of the situation they are in. Yes, even the kids. But the adults in the room are nowhere near that - even if they ultimately *try* to protect their children from the act that they committed, they are still willing to ignore so much else to keep up the pretenses of their charmed life together. But where the drama really comes into it's own is the back half of the final episode, where everything is ultimately revealed and the audience, alongside the characters, learn that it was all for naught. That three people are dead for no other reason then the mess that was made wasn't even theirs to clean up.
Considering the pure absurdity on display, you ultimately need to have a core of actors that are willing to get up for the task. Kim Hye-soo lives up to it all and is able to effectively sell being a composed career women one minute, and a vindicative bitch the other. Kim Ji Hoon definitely come to play, as does Kim Jae Chul and Cho Yeo Jung. But in my mind, the true standouts is the two child actors, Do Yeong So and Jeon Si Hyun. I generally have a dim view of Korean writers being able to weave a queer storyline in a way that is ultimately effective for story purposes and not just for shock value (to be frank I think the same for Western writers) and especially considering the age of the two girls, it could have easily gone down a terrible road. But it's done in a way that feels honest and true - and it does eventually play into the wider story as yet another element of a rabbit hole of disjointed information coming into view. It certainly is a joy to see the parents incredulous that their daughters could be in love, and dating on the side.
What really buoys this drama though, is the cinematography and the craft of it all. Korean dramas, even now compared to say, the 'golden' era of the late 2000's and early 2010's Hallyu Wave, can definitely be hit a lot with the stick of being incredibly bland on that front. Considering the inner workings of Korean dramas still being filmed more or less in the moment, it is to The Affair's benefit that there is a deliberate, Swiss watch precision in terms of shot composition. A review below pins it as a Coen brothers sort of aesthetic, and that is without question the best descriptor for The Affair - and also a great compliment to the director and writers that they are able to weave such a deliberate thematic and compositional style without it feeling like a cheap imitation.
More then anything though, what I appreciate most about this story is the length. It's eight episodes of very little fat - every moment is dedicated to the story, either in the moment or wider scope. There's very little navel-gazing, and it's almost certain that any writer or director could have very easily taken one wrong step and done the drama equivalent of rolling their ankle. Certainly have watched a fair few dramas where the writers figure they are smarter then the audience and string things out to the point of popping the balloon and leaving audiences running for the door. The Affair doesn't do that, and it's a wonderful feeling to watch a show have faith in its ability to bring the audiences along for the way, and stick the landing too.
I haven't been watching Korean dramas again for long - really since the beginning of this year - but it is clear that this ranks as one of the finest I'll watch this year. And it's easily going top three, it's that good. Do yourself a favor and watch this. You'll be glad you did.
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